Hewke's Bay Herald MONDAY, JULY 18, 1898. POLITICAL HONESTY.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10969, 18 July 1898, Page 2

Hewke's Bay Herald MONDAY, JULY 18, 1898. POLITICAL HONESTY.

If there la moh a thlup aa polltioal honesty It would appear to differ widely from the term honesty as applied to the ordinary ethical code. In politlos It won'tl seem that It is legitimate to sell yonr dearest friend, oommlt what would be regarded as crimes In any other walk la life, and initead of betog diihonored by suoh actions, ba considered exceedingly clever and smart. The " smart " man in political life la particularly objaotionable. He la smart ai a general rale, became toe principles which guide other men have no hold upon him. Dloken&'s estimation of the word "smart" as used by the Yankee politicians will be remenu bered. "The word 'smart 1 will break America's neok yet," says he. Parity ,in polltlai wonld teem to be almost unattainable. Id would appear as If do Government oan exiit for any extended period In power without beoomlng more or lem oorrnpted, The reason la very evident. Self Interest too often dashes with the national interest, and the opportunities for personal aggrandisement whlob a polltioal position offers are too great a temptation to the majority of mankind, It is comforting to rtfljot however, that when men of real power and the genius of statesmanship take their place In the arena of politics, and disdain to use the baokatairi method of asoent, they rise above the Intrigues whloh entrap the smaller fry, and their oareer ontlasti a hnodred euoh, as witness Bright, Gladstone, Disraeli, and alas 1 a very few few others. Yet through all the throeß of polltioal oorrnp ion a general benefit la attained, One of our greatest writer* sayi, "Things seem to ! tend downward to justify despondenoy, to promote rogueß, to defeat the just, and by knaves, as by marfyrt, the ja»t oause Is oarrled forward. Although knaves win In every polltioal strnggle, altbongh Boolety seems to be delivered over irom the hands of one set of otlmlnala into the hands of another set of criminals as fast as the government) is changed, and the match of civilisation la a train of felonies, yet general ends are somehow answered, We see now events forced on, which seem to retard or retrograde the civility of BRes, But the world spirit Is a Rood swimmer, and storms and w&ves oannot drown him, He snaps his finger at laws, and so, throughout history, Heaven seems toeffdot low and poor means. Through the years and the centuries, tbrongh evil agents, through toys and atoms, a great and . benefioent tendency Irresistibly streams." There la oomfort in inch a belief as this. Polities are essentially reactionary. Those principles wbloh tcoeived the popnlar approbation and sympathy but a few years since are displaced for the operation of exaotly opposite views to.day. France is perhaps the most prominent example of a rapid ohaoge In pollbioil belief. That wbloh they derided yesterday they gloilfy today. They slew their king became he was a king, yet in bis place they put the most autooratio of emperors, end again dispensed with a life ruler altogether, and this prooess was repeated. Zola li to-day held In deteitatßn by bis oountrymen, yet be, and the oanse he ohamplons, may be In the greatest popular favor a short time hence, Signs are not wanting to chow that inch will probably be the oase. Polltioal ethics are flexible. What is a truth to-day is a lie to-morrow, or rather what we regard as a He In the moral code is better than the trnth, for where the truth wonld do mnoh harm, the He adjusts itaolf to the necessities of the moment. Hjornien given an example of this, A man

aeebi with a tetilble accident, and while till unoonaolona one of bta legs li ampaiated. The dootors warn bli nnraes that le most not be told of this when be belomea oonsolous, aa the shook of snob knowledge would kill blm. Xha olergy nan who attends the sufferer, however, believes (hat tbe holding baok of anoh knowledge wonld be encouraging a He, snd tella tbe man Immediately he awakes that his leg la cat off, whloh haa the effect the dootora predloted. Tbe clergyman, la spite of the consequence of bis aot, brlnmphs ia the belief that a moral victory haß been obtained. The doctrines that the King oan do no wrong, that the Pope la Infallible, have petUhed la the development of popular opinion. Ths doctrine that the me] ulty Is always light la now having Its day. Ibsen oontends obherwlie, He argnee that "It la aaolentlfio fact that the majuUy however eager it may be for the reform of old Bbasen, U always wrong In Its opinion oi new developments, or rather la always unfit for them (for It oan hardly be said to be wrong Id opposing developments for whloh lb la not yet fit). The pioneer la a tiny minority of the foioe he heads i though It Is easy to be In a minority and yob be wiong, ft la absolutely lmpotelble to be In the majority and yet be right as to the newest social prospsota. . . , Whatever olatter we may make for a time with onr filing throngh feudal aerf oollara and kicking off rusty capitalistic ietteri, we ihall never march a step forward exoept at the heeln of ' the strongest man, be who ii able to ttand alone,' and to tnrn his back on ' tho damned compact Liberal majority.' All abstractions Invested with collective ooneolonineaa or collective anthoilty, teb above the Individual, and exao.ioK duty from blm on pretenoe oi aotlng or thinking with greater validity than he, are mandating Idols, red with human sacrifices," Snob opkiona on political morality wonld seem to have a looal application. Tbe action of thoie "patrloti" who make np the Liberal majority Is apparently very Inconsistent, They argne against meaanrea and principles entinolated by their leader', and yet give their aid to making inch meoanres and principles operative. Why are these polltlolans afraid of giving effect to their oplnlona? la It that they fear for the position tho people has placed them In, and tbe mere paltry consideration that they will loie tbat position which urges them to cc 1 ) contrary to what their sense and conscience dictate to them 68 right ? That some of these fo l lowers of the Sed don party are afraid to not aa they think ia evident. When tbe Honee Is In com mlttee the Government msjaililei are mnob narrower tban when a vote Is taken In open debate. When these members vote in committee they know that their names will not receive mnoh pnbllolty as having voted in a certain direotlon. The representatives of the peoplo who endeavor to follow the popnlar current aa they believe, and yet wonld, It they dared, stem the flood, cannot long retain the oorjfidenoe of tbe people. Tbe colouy requires more men who are willing to tise and fall on tbe courage of ttelr opinions. The Very man these political rats keep In power ia abused, and detracted by them more tban by those who are in continual open opposition to him and his colleagues, Oar Wellington correipondeat remarked the other day that a correspondent of a Wellington paper aald ;-" There Is a growing belief among thinking people that tho politician Is faat becoming persistently and blatantly Inalncare " The actions of many co-called Liberals bave long slecb forced that home truth upon üb. The promises and asseverations of the preeent party In power bave been repeatedly broken and proved to be mere subterfuges. Lowell appears to have hit iff our Liberal poll tlolan when he aays :— It'a wall enough agin' a king To dror reßolveß an' triggers,— But Llbatty's a kind o' thlog That don't agree with niggers. I dv believe the people want A tax on teas and coffees, That nothlDg ain't extravagant Parvldln' I'm la offies, That wonld appear to be the creed of onr Liberal politicians— to get to power by any means. The tffHts to found the Ideal State, to raise the people to a higher standard and ameliorate their oondltlon, are all tubverted to the considerations of personal latereit. While their belief letds them to a different conolnslon, they Bnpport that system, In \ which they are bribed by tbe hnaka thrown them from the powers In office.